Presently there are no major automobile manufacturers that mass-produce highway vehicles that accommodate wheelchair access for private use. Consequently, these OEM vehicles must be modified and converted to properly accommodate wheelchair access. One problem encountered during the wheelchair accessibility conversion process of vehicles having independent rear suspension is that when the floor is sufficiently lowered to accommodate a side door wheelchair ramp system, the rear suspension trailing arm protrudes several inches into the vehicle side door opening area, preventing the installation and operation of a ramp system. If the trailing arm is simply shortened so as not to extend into the side door opening, the OEM rear suspension motion is substantially altered, providing for a lower quality performance and ride as compared to the unmodified OEM vehicle. Shortening the trailing arm also compromises the ride safety of the vehicle, which is unacceptable with today's vehicle safety standards, and typically voids the OEM vehicle warranty. The lowering of the floor of the vehicle to accommodate the ramp system also lowers the vehicle's OEM ground clearance. Raising the vehicle frame to obtain OEM ground clearance after the floor is lowered has the potential of significantly altering the OEM suspension motion and safety of the vehicle.
As can be seen, a need exists in the art for a method of efficiently converting an OEM vehicle having rear independent suspension in such a way to adequately accommodate a wheelchair ramp while substantially preserving the ride safety, performance, and quality of the OEM suspension, thereby producing a wheelchair accessible vehicle that is substantially as comfortable and safe to drive as the unmodified OEM vehicle.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a method for effectively producing a side door wheelchair accessible vehicle from an OEM vehicle, e.g., a minivan, while retaining the OEM suspension design, ride quality, and sufficient ground clearance.